In order to understand the great utility of the car-wash device of the present invention, it is first necessary to consider a thorough discussion of all types of present car-washes, and why they fail to provide the desired ideal car-wash. The many objections to all known car washes cause a dilemma for millions of car-owners who cannot at the present time get this desired but elusive ideal wash.
Before proceeding with this comprehensive discussion, the characteristics of the desired car-wash should first be defined. An "ideal" wash would perform the following:
1. Clean the car completely, by removing all dirt and/or "road film" in all circumstances.
2. Minimize paint-scratching, to be the same or less than for the best present wash (such as a so-called "hand-wash").
3. Clean the car fast, in not more than 7 to 10 minutes.
4. Clean the car at low-cost when a paid-wash is used, such as 50-95 cents depending on car size, and preferably a lower cost for a small car than for a large car.
After many years and hundreds of millions of dollars for development, not one car-wash system presently known can provide the ideal car-wash specified above. The car-wash device and system of the present invention does provide this ideal car-wash.
The various car-wash systems, and the reasons why they fail to provide all the desired characteristics specified above will be considered after discussing the main steps or operations necessary in washing all cars having road film on their surfaces, as follows:
Water Run-off
The frequently-used term road film refers to grime or dirt-mass adhering to a car-surface caused by a combination of atmospheric precipitation mixed with small amounts of road impurities, such as oil deposits, rubber, etc. which are splashed on car-surfaces from the tires of other cars. The impurities tend to bind the dirt and adhere to the car surfaces. However, a large portion of the dirt-mass is loose enough to be initially run off without scratching paint by a stream of water, particularly when discharged at high velocity, such as from a wand-nozzle in a self-operated coin-wash. I believe that the large initial dirt run-off by water is caused mostly by the large mass of the water striking the dirt particles at high velocity, and then floating this loose dirt off the car surface. Hence, this portion of the car-washing process will be referred to herein as "hydraulic" cleaning. While soap may be included to help this initial dirt removal, tests to date indicate that the effect of soap is secondary and not essential in this step, except in a few special conditions to be discussed.
When a previously cleaned car is covered with only dust, for example when deposited during a few days free of atmospheric precipitation, the car can be completely cleaned by this water run-off alone without further soap and/or brushing. The car can then air-dry if desired. Dust or dirt that falls on a car without road-film frequently does not adhere to the car-surface. Tests have shown that a dusty car parked in a rain shower will often be nearly clean when it dries; a coating of only dust very often will be run-off by the rain to clean the car. Also a previously-clean car frequently will remain substantially clean after a rain shower.
Washing Operation
After completing the water run-off operation on a car having road-film, the remaining thin dirt-film must be removed by physical contact, such as by a sponge or brush with a proper amount of water and detergent to loosen this dirt-film. The amount of water necessary for this operation is very small, much less than for the initial dirt run-off by water.
Rinsing Operation
Before the water-soap mixture of the washing operation dries, a spray of water is applied to the entire car-surface by suitable spray means to run-off the loosened dirt and soap.
Drying Operation
In commercial car washes, drying is done by hand and/or by blowers. These washes use very strong soaps which tend to leave spots if the car is air-dried. However if certain mild soaps are used in the washing process, the car-surface can air-dry in the same manner as for dish-washing substantially without soap-spots.
Now consider the various types of car-washing systems in order of cost and why they fail to provide the desired total ideal characteristics specified above.
Hand-wash
For a hand wash, the stationary car is cleaned by one or more persons with a container of soapy water using a sponge or brush manually. This was frequently done at gas stations in the past, but has become too expensive for most car-owners. But if properly done, this car-wash method does not cause excessive paint-scratching.
Production Car-Washes
This class of car-wash includes a production-line which pulls the car through automatically. The car-wash operations are performed at various stations by automatic machines and/or by workers. Most present car-washes of this type must employ a series of large rotating or whirling brushes to clean most or all of the car exterior. In the automatic type known as exterior "drive-through" washes, the driver remains in the car and only the exterior is cleaned at a present cost of about $1.50. In a second type, known as a "full-service" or semi-automatic car wash, workers are employed to clean both the interior and exterior at a present cost of about $2.00 to $2.50 per wash.
While the car can be cleaned in 8-10 minutes in a complete car wash and about 2-3 minutes in a drive-through car-wash, they both have several inherent problems. The first is the relatively high cost, especially for the complete wash. In many areas of the nation there are very few days without atmospheric precipitation. In the northern cities where salt is used on the streets, as well as cities near salt water, cars should be washed very often. Hence, complete production wash systems have become too costly for millions of car-owners. It is significant that the cost of a production-wash is the same for a Pinto as for a Lincoln.
Both types of production car-wash systems have another inherent and important problem. Since the shape of each car as well as the amount of dirt thereon cannot be predicted, all production car-wash systems must be designed to wash every square inch of every car as though it were the dirtiest portion of the dirtiest car--even though a car is not very dirty but needs washing. Hence, these two production car-washes inherently cause needless extra paint-scratching, and many people have rejected production-washes for this reason alone and seek a better solution. This scratching or "hazing" is worst when a rotating brush holds sand or grit from one car and then scratches the following cars.
A fourth problem with production washes is that the cars must be cleaned very fast; and since it must be assumed that every car is the dirtiest car, very strong soaps (and an excessive amount thereof) must be used to loosen the road-film chemically as well as by brushes. Tests of production car-wash soaps show that the best car-wax is almost completely removed in the first car-wash after waxing, whereas the wax is not removed by milder soaps, to be discussed further herein.
Still another frequent objection to production-washes is that projecting accessories, such as a radio antennae, sometimes are damaged by the whirling brushes; also, portions of the car are missed by the brushes.
Self-Operated Coin-Wash
Because of the problems discussed above, this type of car-wash (hereinafter referred to only as "coin" or "wand" wash) has gained widespread acceptance because of the "do-it-yourself" factor. Also, coin-washes are open at most hours when other types of car-washes are closed, and hence are very convenient. In a coin-wash the car is parked in a bay or stall and is sprayed manually by an operator (usually the car-owner) with a wand discharging selectively either water or a mixture of soap and water under high pressure (about 500-700 psi, or even higher). The clear or soapy water is supplied only for metered periods, presently about 4-5 minutes for 35 cents inserted in a coin-slot, and the supply of liquid is then shut off automatically until additional coins are inserted in the coin slot. The dirt and film are supposedly removed entirely by the chemical action of a very strong detergent without physical contact on the car surface by a brush, sponge, etc. The car is first sprayed completely with soapy water to combine the run-off and washing operations. The car is then rinsed with clear water. Two coin-periods are usually used for a large Ford when very dirty. This washing method is included in a class known as "jet washers", in which no physical contact is made on the car surface by a brush or sponge.
The most serious and frequent complaint against coin-washes when operated solely as discussed above, is that a thin layer of road-film remains on the car and cannot be removed by this process without further work on the car-surface by a brush, sponge, towel, etc. This is true of all so-called jet-washers including an automatic version thereof, in which soap and water is sprayed on the car automatically. Despite this serious disadvantage, as a lesser of evils the coin-wash has become widely used, frequently as an interim wash because of the residual road-film.
Many other people have tried coin-washes as well as other jet washes, and have rejected this form of car-washing solely because of the residual dirt-film.
However, the conventional coin-wash operation can provide a satisfactory car-wash if only dust resides on the car surface as a result of zero precipitation between car-washes. In fact tests have shown that water alone will run off all the dust coating (without soap or rinse) in less than four minutes, and the car is then clean. In some areas of the country where rainfall is not heavy, this mode is satisfactory.
When the car is covered by road-film, several other methods are now used often at coin-washes to clean a car satisfactorily. In a first method after the car is "washed" as above-described, the car is driven out of the bay-area to a wiping area usually provided for this purpose. The car-owner then wipes off the remaining water and dirt-film, and the car appears clean. However there are problems in this method. In the process of wiping off the remaining film, the paint is scratched somewhat by the slight dirt in the film. Even worse, if a breeze exists and/or the sun is bright, the rinse-water dries before the wiping process is completed which increases the paint-scratching. Also, it is very unpleasant both on hot days in the sun as well as on cold and/or windy days in fall and winter.
But the worst disadvantage of the foregoing procedure is the excessive time. It requires about eight minutes in the bay area, about three minutes to move the car and get out the towels, about 10-20 minutes to clean and dry the entire surface, or a total of about 20-30 minutes for the entire car-wash plus the time to squeeze out the cleaning cloths. Equally bad, this procedure requires hard work for the entire period.
In a second method which is frequently used at coin-washes, the car-owner brings a container of water-detergent mixture at "off-hours" when no other cars are waiting. The entire car is first sprayed with or without soap to run off the loose dirt in a first coin-period. Then the car is completely washed by hand using a sponge or brush soaked in the container of soapy water. Next, the car is rinsed with clear water in a second coin-period and finally the windows are wiped with a squeegee. Since the car is then clean if the proper soap is used it will air-dry in the same manner as for dishwashing with negligible soap spots. This method produces a good wash and is similar to the "hand wash" formerly available at many gas stations. The disadvantage is the large amount of time required and the back-breaking work. In many timed tests of this method on a large Ford-size car, over 30 minutes are required at the coin-wash; another 15 minutes are needed to prepare the soapy water in the container and for clean-up afterwards, so the total time is about 45 minutes. Despite this objection, many people are now using this method at coin-washes because it produces an excellent wash with minimum paint-scratching. In fact it is so common that signs are posted at most coin-washes warning that this method is not permitted in the bay area if cars are waiting.
Home Wash
There are several types of home-washes presently used. The simplest is to use a garden-hose and a bucket filled with soapy-water. After running off the loose dirt initially with water from the garden-hose nozzle, a sponge soaked in soapy-water is used to clean the entire car. Then the car is rinsed with water and air-dried or wiped dry by hand. While this method produces a satisfactory car-wash, the time and hard work are objectionable to millions of car-owners. Also the water pressure is too low for proper initial run-off if the car is very dirty.
In order to reduce the time and work involved in home-washes, numerous car-wash devices are now available and comprise several types.
1. The "jet-type" of home car-wash is similar to the jet-washer at coin-washes and has the same disadvantages, but is less effective because of the lower pressure (35 psi). The jet-washer does not include a brush but comprises a manually-operated wand with a discharge jet and a valve-controlled soap supply which selectively can be turned on or off. The car is first washed with a mixture of a strong detergent and water, and is then rinsed with water. The cleaning is dependent entirely on the chemical action of the strong soap to remove road-film. While it might clean off a covering of dust or light dirt, this type of wash leaves a dirt-film residue when a heavy road-film is present.
2. The "fountain-brush-type" home car-wash usually includes a soap-unit for selectively supplying soapy-water to the brush for washing the car. Then the soap is turned off so only water is discharged at the brush area. As usually constructed, this type of wash has several fundamental disadvantages. For example, there is no provision for a high-velocity jet-stream of water to hydraulically run-off a large portion of the dirt before using the brush to clean only the remaining dirt-film. When the brush is applied directly to a heavy coating of dirt without initial water run-off, needless paint-scratching occurs. Equally objectionable, it is difficult to run-off the loose dirt and soap by using rinse-water while the brush is in the way. Also, much time is wasted because the washing and rinsing operations must be done separately.
In both types of home-washers the method of dispersing soap is particularly objectionable, and seriously detracts from their usefulness. Solutions to the puzzling problems related to soap-supply systems have been very elusive. One problem in dispensing soap is the difficulty of producing a proper amount of soap without waste while still cleaning the car. Fluid-venturis have been used but are expensive. Hydraulic means are more common, but only very small restrictions can be used to meter soap-flow because of the relatively high pressure (35-90 psi) of the water directed through a container of soap which then flows back into the main water stream. Tests of several home-washers indicate that this system is extremely wasteful of soap and adds time to the car-wash. One fountain washer required 23 cents worth of soap per wash, which quickly diluted excessively with water; the dilution was so bad that the soap-container had to be emptied and refilled before each car-wash, which required 10 minutes extra.
Equally objectionable, particularly with jet-washers, is the reduction in the chemical cleaning effect (which is poor to begin with) as the soap is quickly diluted.
These problems are caused by fundamental characteristics in the hydraulics of home-washers, and are basic and inherent. The water-pressure for garden-hoses varies depending on many conditions but may average 35 psi and can be as high as 100 psi. This relatively high pressure is a source of a special soap-supply problem, as mentioned above. In order to restrict the flow of soap to acceptable limits with this relatively high-pressure, the metering orifices in the soap units must be very small. Any minute particles of dirt can plug these small holes to reduce or stop the soap-supply. The problem is compounded by the requirement for a low-cost and light-weight construction, usually of plastic. The plastic walls of the soap reservoir must be strong enough to contain this relatively high pressure without leaks. If the reservoir is sealed permanently except for the filler cap as is often done, the small orifices cannot be cleaned.
The soap-supply problem in home washers is so severe that solid soap-cartridges or pellets have been used in the water passage to dissolve the soap at a predetermined rate at all times. However, with these soap cartridges there is no way to turn off the soap-supply, wherein the rinse must be performed separately by a garden hose alone.
Home-wash devices cannot be used by people who live in apartments, or otherwise have no areas available to use garden-hoses. Also, in the northern cities garden-hoses cannot be used during the winter.
Now that the types of car-washes have been described, several terms used herein should be defined. The term "car" refers to any automotive or self-propelled vehicle; although it refers particularly to automobiles, station wagons, trucks, and buses, the term may also include motorcycles, airplanes, boats, etc.
The term "wand" refers to the manually-operated portion of coin-washes (or for garden-hoses) usually comprising a metal tube connected to a high-pressure water-hose, and includes a handle-portion to be held by the operator and a jet or orifice at the end of the tube to discharge water at high velocity particularly at coin-washes. The handle may be straight or a pistol grip, either type being part of the "wand means."
The term "soap" refers to any kind of cleaning agent or fluid or detergent, particularly for car-washing, which usually (but not necessarily) is a liquid for the device of the present invention.
The term "metered time" applies only to coin-washes and refers to the total time in which water and soap is supplied for a given coin inserted in the coin-box.
The term, "brushing means" unless otherwise specified, refers to any kind of brush, sponge, cloth, mit or similar means to enable manual cleaning of the car-surface by physical contact, usually accompanied by soap.
The term "road-film" refers to organic matter such as oil, oxidized oil, rubber, asphalt, grease, insect remains, quartz, mica and clay. The organic constituents seem to act as a binder to hold the matter together and adhere to the car-surface making the film difficult to remove.
The term "dirt" as used herein broadly refers to any foreign matter to be be removed such as grit, sand, etc., as well as film. Most of the dirt (that does not have a binder) can be removed hydraulically, especially by high-pressure water as described herein, whereas road-film must be removed by physical contact. For purposes herein, the term dirt refers to all foreign matter including road-film unless otherwise specified.
Since an important aspect of my invention is to enhance do-it-yourself coin-washes, in addition to all the foregoing it is important to understand the extremely useful characteristics of all coin-washes which are very significant in the present invention. Coin-washes usually include a covered bay area, but some versions at gas stations merely comprise an open washing-area with a hose having a wand strung out on the deck of this area.
Tests have shown that the particular spray design with the high pressure of a coin-wash is the best for the initial water run-off operation to remove mot of the dirt particles hydraulically without scratching. This is particularly useful when sand or salt must be removed from the car-surface. The pressure is much higher (500-700 psi) than for a wand or spray nozzle attached to a garden hose (35 psi), and the particular jet-design utilizes the higher pressure to provide for a wide spray with a water "knife-edge" at sufficient velocity when selectively held by the operator at the optimum distance from the surface at all times to run off most of the dirt particles hydraulically without harming the paint. Garden-hose nozzles do not produce as good a spray because of their lower pressures, so that the high-pressure coin-wash has particular utility, especially in Class III, IV, and V car-washes, to be discussed. The coin-wash enables the best initial water run-off operation of any car-wash system.
In addition, by manual selective use, the wands at high-pressure coin-washes can perform several unique tasks in car-cleaning when held at varying distances for each task. Both black and white-wall portions of tires can be hydraulically cleaned by the water-blast by holding the jet a few inches from the tire surface and running the jet-discharge around the tire; this action does no harm during the life of the tire. It is especially effective after a good tire-cleaner is used every 4-6 weeks.
The wands for home jet-washers with garden hoses can perform most of these operations, but not as effectively. For initial water run-off the wand must be held closer to the surface than at coin-washes because of the lower pressure.
Most coin-washes can be used at any time, even after production washes are closed. In winter many coin-washes are provided with a heater and either a single large door or tarpaulin to close off the wind; also the water supply is usually heated in winter.
Another inherent advantage of coin-washes is that the operator usually is the car-owner who will be more careful of his own property than car-wash employees.
The great utility of the present invention can be better understood by classifying the conditions of a car-surface in the degree of difficulty for removing foreign matter such as dust, dirt, mud, sand, salt, grime, etc., as follows:
Class I
In this class, the car-surface would be covered only with dust as a result of zero precipitation since the latest car-wash. No dirt-film would be present on the surface.
Class II
In this class, the car-surface would be coated with dust as in Class I, but some rain falls on the surface while the car is parked and the pavement dries before the car is driven, so the surfaces would not be splashed by the tires of other cars.
Class III
In this class, the car would be driven during a light rain to produce a thin coating of road-film on the car-surfaces thrown from the tires of other cars.
Class IV
In this class, the car would be driven during a heavier rain and with at least moderate traffic to produce a thicker coating of road-film on the car-surfaces. The coating increases as the speed increases and as the number of other cars increases to throw more road-dirt and grime on the car-surface.
Class V
This is the worst condition for car-washing. In this class, a number of factors may be present. For example, in northern cities in winter the car would be driven in a snow-condition with the streets covered with salt in heavy traffic to cause severe splashing; this is particularly bad if the car has not been washed for long periods wherein the salt-dirt mass accumulates on the car-surface. In cities adjacent to large bodies of salt water, the car-surface also can acquire a heavy salt-coating in normal driving. This class of car-wash would also apply to a car normally driven in less severe conditions, as in Class IV, but for extremely long periods without washing, which enables a thick coating of road-film to accumulate.
The coin-wash can perform a Class I and possibly Class II wash as intended without physical contact by a sponge or brush. But all remaining classes of car-wash require physical contact to remove road-film.
The car-wash device of the present invention utilizes several factors to produce an excellent car-wash. The first factor is the principle of air-drying in the same manner as for dish-washing. With the proper soap, if the car-surface is perfectly cleaned and rinsed of soap like dishes it will dry sparkling clean substantially free of soap-spots without manually drying the surface. Tests have shown that some soaps are much better than others in providing a sparkling air-dried surface wherein the soap-spots are negligible.
Another important factor is the unique and inherently useful characteristic of the high-pressure jet-spray wand particularly at coin-washes as discussed above, but also for jet-spray wands designed for garden hoses. My car-wash device enhances all the desirable factors of a jet-spray wand, as at coin-washes, while eliminating all the objectionable factors previously discussed.
The wand enables running off most of the dirt hydraulically during the water-run-off operation (by pressure up to 850 psi), so the washing operation must remove only the fine remaining dirt particles and residue film. Another important factor is the present economic inflation which has caused a large trend toward "do-it-yourself" in many aspects of our society. More automotive test instruments are now being sold for personal use than ever. For car-washing, particularly when people now own two or more cars, for cost alone the trend is toward do-it-yourself methods. But the puzzling problem has been that no present do-it-yourself car-wash method provides the ideal car-wash as defined above.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a manual car-wash system and device including mechanism which can be quickly attached (and removed) to most existing wands of present coin-washes to overcome all the above-discussed problems and enables a complete and excellent do-it-yourself car-wash in a very short time and hence at low-cost with a minimum of work, and further to enable a mode of operation in which the device causes the least paint-scratching of any known car-wash system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a manual car-wash system and device as described in the preceding paragraph which in addition includes wand means to enable use with garden hoses for providing substantially the same excellent car-wash at home in the same manner as at coin-washes for Class I-III dirt formations.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a manual car-wash system and device as described in either or both preceding paragraphs, which includes novel attachable means to enable very quick attachment (and removal) of the device to the wand, and may also include unique means to adjust quickly for any wand-angle as well as other related means to accommodate almost all the varied lengths and shapes of wands now in service at coin-washes.
An important object of the present invention is to provide in a manual car-wash system and device of the type described in any of the preceding three paragraphs, as well as for any conventional home-wash device, novel low-pressure soap-supply means to feed soap to the area of the car-surface being washed, which soap-supply means overcomes all the objections of the present soap-supply systems of manual car-wash devices described above.